Maryland needs teachers. Former federal workers come forward.
The desire to do good for others led to something good happening to Amanda Leiter – just in time.
Ms. Leiter was a law professor at American University in Washington, D.C., for 12 years before taking a job in the EPA’s Office of General Counsel under President Joe Biden. She knew she wouldn’t be able to transition to the current management. She also followed her friends working in the government and read headlines about the mass layoffs that the Trump administration began as soon as it took power.
“I was already doing some volunteer work when I came out of the Biden administration, and once we saw that the Trump administration was letting a lot of people go, a group of us got together, and we were trying to pull resources together to help people who were being laid off,” Ms. Leiter says.
Why did we write this?
With former federal employees looking for jobs, Maryland saw an opportunity to support its schools. A new program offers them three months of teacher training — and a chance to make a difference in the classroom.
She has compiled a list of job banks and resume review programs.
“And one of the things I found was this really inspiring video of the governor [Wes] Essentially, if the federal government doesn’t want our dedicated public servants, we in Maryland can use you, Moore says.
Mr. Moore shot the video and used the moment to fill jobs in his state with laid-off federal employees. His state had a large gap in teacher vacancies in Maryland, which numbered more than 1,600 as of March. initiative, Federal Reserve Bank to the editorsIt began in June and is part of a $1 million grant to 11 colleges in Maryland to help train new teachers and place them in classrooms. This approach is specific to federal employees, but ultimately is a continuation of the state’s Alternative Certification for Effective Educators (ACET) program. Under ACET, trainees can obtain a license to teach, but not degrees.
Schools in the Feds to Eds program include Montgomery College, College Park University of Maryland and Baltimore County Campus, Morgan State University, and Bowie State University.
“The state of Maryland is mobilizing. We refuse to stand idly by while the new federal administration fires public employees without cause. [we] “We are doing everything we can to put Marylanders first,” said Governor Moore He said When the Federalists were declared to Eds.
By the end of September, the Trump administration had either laid off about 300,000 federal employees or given buyouts. Last Friday, more layoff notices were issued.
Maryland’s approach to directing job seekers to teaching positions is finding support.
“I like the idea,” says Paul Lemley, president of the Maryland Education Association, which represents 76,000 teachers and school staff. “I think we always want professionals from other fields to think about education, and sometimes we can get it, sometimes we can’t.”
If a biologist or computer scientist wants to experience working with students and sharing their expertise with them, Maryland is willing, said Mr. Lemley, a teacher. He points out that teaching salaries start at $60,000 and average more than $90,000 per year. He says that doesn’t match the salaries some federal employees earn, but he knows there are thousands in the state looking for work.
“Everyone benefits when we find a great teacher: that teacher, the kids, and our community,” he adds.
Montgomery College received $100,000 from the grant and used it to assemble two groups. She and Bowie State University were the only schools to offer a summer intake, which ended in August. Sixteen of the 18 students from the first group are now teaching classrooms, says Glenda Hernandez Tittle, who heads the program. When the second group, now training, heads to the classroom, they will do so with full pay and benefits – and help with work when needed. For the Feds to Eds program, Montgomery College has reduced what typically takes six to nine months to three months.
Dr. Hernandez Tittle says that all of Montgomery College’s enrollees have college degrees, and 60% to 65% of them have advanced degrees. Of the advanced degrees, 70% are doctoral degrees. Some went to colleges and universities like Harvard or Stanford.
Ms. Leiter, who will teach high school biology in Montgomery County, Maryland, just outside Washington, is in the second cohort of the program at Montgomery College.
Courtesy of Carsen Bryant/Montgomery College
“This seemed like an important moment in time to really commit to the next generation,” says Ms. Leiter, who was excited to see if she could apply her law school teaching in a different setting. “I really enjoyed learning from her [the instructors]. In fact, I kind of wish I knew some of what they were teaching me when I was teaching in law school.
She is one of 18 members of her group, which meets two or three evenings a week at Montgomery College’s Rockville campus. Sometimes, they meet online. Interns are taught by teachers from Montgomery County Schools. They will be mostly assigned to middle schools. If there are severe shortages in fields, such as science, technology, engineering and mathematics, some could be allocated to high schools.
At the beginning of the program, teachers emphasize how different teaching in public schools is to professionals who have succeeded elsewhere, says Dr. Hernandez Tittle. They also get a lot of comments about what they are doing right or wrong, because teaching is not for the weak.
“It’s hard for them. Imagine you change careers after you’ve been somewhere for 15, 20, 25 years, and you learn something completely new. You go from getting all these accolades to, you know, doing well at this,” to criticizing how to do things better. She says it’s necessary.
Baltimore’s teacher shortage is a reality the state must address, says Joe Manko, education program officer at the Abell Foundation, a Baltimore-based private group focused on health, economics and education.
He points out that the Feds to Eds program is similar to initiatives such as Teach for America and Baltimore City’s educational residency program. They have a proven track record of success, which he believes bodes well. What needs to happen for the program to thrive, he says, is for mentoring to continue once new teachers arrive at the schools. New recruits will need time to learn and thrive.
“There are individuals who consider teaching a second career, and they become very successful teachers because they use their prior work experience and are able to parlay that into powerful educational benefits for their children.”